Brick Waterloo Dark Lager - Brick Brewing Co. / Red Baron Lounge

John

New York

1.55/5  rDev -47.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Amazing beer. I find it quite fascinating that someone has managed to brew a beer as dark as this with zero flavor. The appearance of this beer is indeed a little suspicious. Wait, I think I tasted something...a twinge of some kind of bitterness, burnt toast maybe. Strange brew...kill what's inside of you...

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2002 09:55:40 | More by John

ramrod666

Pennsylvania

1.73/5  rDev -41.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1

tried this dark lager on a return trip to jack's in niagra falls. the first time i was there it was kicked so, i waltzed across the street from my motel on the next day to see if the had aquired another. they had. i was exited to try this dark lager that iwas told to be good. it pours a nice opaque black with a mohogany head that looked delicious. that was the last good thing i have to say. this was one foul swill. it had to be a bad keg or dirty lines. it totally ruined this brew. the smell was a rancid vinigar. the taste was dominated by a strong vinigar, creamy grossness although i couls talse some decent malts in the very far back. mouthfeel was almost impossible to register due to the overwhelming vinigar flavor. i choked down 3/4 of this pint and told the bar maid it was bad. she had almost no reaction. probobly because she was really busy. so i left.

Serving type: on-tap

08-27-2004 00:29:01 | More by ramrod666

jackorain

Pennsylvania

1.73/5  rDev -41.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Ruby brown color, clear. Head fell to a simple lttle ring aronf the glass before the bartender ould even get it to me.

S-A light sweetmalt aroma, but almost no odor at all.

T-Sweet malt no detectable hop flavor and certainly no bitterness. Also has funkiness to it. Odd

M-extremely thin body, watery and fizzy

D-yeah, right

Serving type: on-tap

12-18-2007 17:57:24 | More by jackorain

IronDjinn

Alberta (Canada)

2.05/5  rDev -31%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Hmmmm, this would be the 3rd sample from Brick that I've tried (first review though), and I've come to the conclusion that from my experience their beers seem to be very lacking in flavour and body. I do however love the stubbies though.

This dark lager poured out of its stubbie a clear mahogany colour, reddish highlights when held up to the light. No real head to speak of. Aroma is practically non-existant, I'm picking up nothing on the radar. There, I went and blew my nose. Now I get the faintest of sweet malt on the first whiff, but the longer I smell I lose the scent after that first whiff. Looks like I've spent my whiff now, all the aroma is gone. I've seemingly smelled all of the aroma right out of the beer. But what I did catch was sweet toasted malt.

The flavour at first sip is nearly cloyingly sweet, but then gets up on two wheels, spins out and heads in the opposite direction with a more husky grain finish. Right there in the middle, that's when it happens, you can see the blue smoke and the skid marks even. Still, flavour is lacking. I'd like to say the mouthfeel is watery, but it does possess a bit of body to it. However the flavour is quite watery, and that's what throws me off.

I can't say I could recommend this to anyone else at all, not in good conscience at least, it is very mediocre and not worth your hard earned money (especially what I paid for it here in Alberta). I do like the stubbie bottles though.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2004 22:39:19 | More by IronDjinn

TerryW

Ontario (Canada)

2.08/5  rDev -30%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Short, short head that, within muntes, leaves behind only a partial ring. Couple of spots, but no meaningful lace. Dark cola coloured beer.

Slight alcohol smell, weak malt. Watery, weak barley flavour. Marginally beer-like.

Quite undistinguished I'm afraid.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2004 21:24:07 | More by TerryW

CAMRAhardliner

Ontario (Canada)

2.08/5  rDev -30%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pours a turbid dark brown with a quick fading head and a small amount of meandering lace. The aroma is overly sweet with a little grainyness and coarse hop leaf. The taste is cloyingly sweet with some nuttiness and herbal hops. Petrol like off flavors make it all the more unpleasant. The mouthfeel is slick and sugary. The finish is sweet and bland.

Not a very good beer. It really needs more body and malt and hop flavors. I keep thinking of poorly brewed extract homebrew when I drink this.

Note: I know this isnt a bad bottle, Ive had this beer several times before.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2006 02:58:15 | More by CAMRAhardliner

Shiloh

Ontario (Canada)

2.1/5  rDev -29.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

This beer is not very good at all, the appearance is the high point at average, and the sample goes down from there.
The aroma is lacking character, maybe a thin element of nuttiness but little else.
The taste again is very thin and that is mostly cardboard.
The colour is dark brown, almost black with medium carbonation and thin crown leading to a pleasent glass ring and thin island lace.
The taste also leaves you dry and lacking, lacking for something else.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2006 18:53:53 | More by Shiloh

leaddog

Alberta (Canada)

2.13/5  rDev -28.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Appearance- Pours a dark brown (almost cola) with a finger width of bubbly head that fades quickly.

Smell-plum, tad roasted malts. Not much else to the aromas. Very off putting.

Taste- There is a little bit of the roasted malts and not much else perhaps some sweetness. Very peculiar flavours.

Mouthfeel- Light to medium bodied with light carbonation. Thin and watery.

Overall- A sub par Euro Dark Lager (if this is what its trying to be). Unpleasant aromas and bizzare flavours make this almost a drain pour. Disappointed and hoping to try a better representation of the style in the future.

Serving type: can

08-15-2012 03:56:28 | More by leaddog

rarbring

Sweden

2.15/5  rDev -27.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

A clear dark brown beer with red hues, a pale tan head that leaves little lacing and has small curtains.

The smell is bread, metallic acidity and some grass.

Starting very sweet, brown bread, raisins, more coke than beer.

Medium low carbonation, small bubbles, sticky but watery, a slight dry finish.

Actually like any boring mass produced dark lager.

Serving type: can

04-19-2012 19:48:29 | More by rarbring

Noxious26

Saskatchewan (Canada)

2.25/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

341ml bottle poured in a pint glass.

Cola-like in appearance. Beige head is 1/4 inch on the pour receding to a thin ring around the edge.

Weak aroma is roasted malt and some sweetness with an undefined background scent that isn't appealing.

Roasted malt at the start is nice, but the flavour fades rapidly. In the middle that same unappealing undefinited aspect comes out. It's kind of an off-bitter astringent quality. Bland finish with weak malt aftertaste.

Thin mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Kind of like drinking pop that's almost flat.

Well, this was a big let down. Found this at a local specialty store where they bring in products you can't get anywhere else. It's not terrible, but not really good either. If the roasted malt at the start continued through to the finish, and if the mouthfeel was sturdier, then it would be decent.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2006 13:49:23 | More by Noxious26

JamesMN

Minnesota

2.28/5  rDev -23.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: Translucent dark mahogany. Thin light brown head.

Aroma: Chemical. Some strange mix of malts making it a little off-putting.

Taste: Just like in the nose, it's got a chemical quality to it. Like the taste of a cleaning solution or something. There is a moment in the finish when you taste some redeeming qualities of roasted malt but it is just an odd flavor overall.

Mouthfeel: Just below medium bodied with average carbonation. The jury's out on drinkability since I'm probably going to drain pour this one.

Final Thoughts: This one has me at a crossroads. On the one hand it has a strange flavor to it that is putting me off and on the other hand there really isn't anything outright bad about it. Would I drink it again? No, I'm probably not even going to finish the one I'm drinking now.

Serving type: can

10-15-2012 03:19:34 | More by JamesMN

JustinBathurst

Ontario (Canada)

2.35/5  rDev -20.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

I spent a week in Kitchener-Waterloo and as a result got a crash-course in local brews. This one was usually available. I tried it first on tap, then in a bottle. On tap was better for sure, as the bottled dark tasted like sap.

Dark appearance, still somewhat watery on tap, faintly sweet, but with absolutely no life to recommend it after one glass. If I was offered it, I think I'd pass.

Serving type: on-tap

11-29-2003 04:52:44 | More by JustinBathurst

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

2.43/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

473ml can. After their amber lager, and against my better judgment, I present to you...

This beer pours a clear, very dark reddish amber colour, with three fingers of thin puffy, foamy beige head, which leaves some broad porous rock face lace around the glass as it quickly (almost with perceptible guilt) fades away.

It smells of sour grain, a bit of stale bread, and dying, somewhat skanky grass. The taste is more sour, skunkiness, hard to tell if the grain or the hops are at fault - it's an opaque aluminum can, so who the hell knows. All I know is that I'm getting flavours that just don't mesh with what I'm looking at. Ok, so after settling down a wee bit, I do get some mild caramel notes, but this doesn't eliminate the aforementioned ugliness.

The bubbles are a tad frizzy and loose, but not really all that impactful, the body a lightweight, bordering on thin, and not smooth, a rising metallic edge taking care of that. It finishes off-dry, a mix between old bread and cooked veggies.

Urg. What is it with the stuff that Brick sends West? Both this and the Amber Lager taste like a buck-a-beer, with a stingy dose of caramel syrup stirred in. Not even up to Rickard's Red's oh so lofty standards. Uneven, and unappetizing.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2012 23:44:50 | More by biboergosum

EspressoGuy

British Columbia (Canada)

2.48/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

A: practically opaque dark cola.
S: simple, pine, yeastiness. Simple lager smell.
T: Not much maltiness. Close your eyes and you couldn't tell it has a speck of dark malt. Clean, simple. Not much there. Noticeable bitterness and maybe even some sourness in the finish.
M: fine.
O: Bias declaration: I just don't see the point of dark lagers. Either buy a lager or buy an ale. A dark lager tries to be both and ends up being nothing. Last time I try one.

Serving type: can

06-08-2012 02:24:05 | More by EspressoGuy

dherling

New Jersey

2.5/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured out a dark but clear color, like coca cola, but without a head. The nose smelled of old dust, a musty room, seltzer. The taste had maybe, at best, some mild malt notes to it. The mouthfeel was crisp, clean. A very drinkable beer, but why would you?

Serving type: on-tap

01-10-2007 20:02:29 | More by dherling

Jason

Massachusetts

2.5/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

473 mL can purchased at the Niagara Falls The Beer Store.

Thin lacing, the head is lacking big time. Very dark color with shades of chestnut glowing in the light. Very sweet aroma, smells of caramel and nutella ... cloying at that. Medium body, slick crispness with a bit of smoothness. Wet thin maltiness, vaguely toasted and very sweet. Very little hop character, small bitterness that has a problem to keep balance. Sweetness is borderline cloying, caramel and sugary ... almost like unfermented wort. Obviously sweet in the finish.

A tad boring and not very drinkable. Bland comes to mind.

Serving type: can

05-23-2008 03:25:25 | More by Jason

kjyost

Manitoba (Canada)

2.5/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

Can #1 from the LCBO OCB Discovery Pack #3... Let's see what there is to discover in Ontario's 'OFFICIAL' Craft Brews (I say this b/c there are a bunch of good Ontario breweries that are not listed as members in their documentation). The can is labeled 'Waterloo Brewing Co.', but this is the beer

The beer pours with an average head that disappears quite quickly, and leaves no lacing. The beer is dark, but almost brownish red, and has notes of bread and honey (or some sort of sweetness) on the nose. Peculiar.

Once tasted, I wonder what I am drinking as I get a very grainy flavor reminiscent of a clear lager with sweetness rolling across the palate finishing with a touch of bitter. I can't perceive any substantial malt, and the beer feels thin for a dark. The carbonation is low, but still somehow biting. I think it is time to finish the review as the more I drink, the more I contemplate the ratings I have given and the more they drop...

Once upon a time (when Fort Garry Dark was new and exciting) I would have liked this beer. There are many better beers than this one available to us now.

Serving type: can

01-15-2010 02:28:02 | More by kjyost

baiser

Massachusetts

2.53/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Stubby bottle. Poured a dark reddish black colour with a tan head that dissappeared quickly. Smelled of caramel, and not much else.

After seeing this dark colour, I expected quite a bold, rich taste...

Was I ever wrong. I cannot understand how a beer of this colour could have even less taste than some of the macro lagers out there. After a little initial bitterness, there wasn't much else. A little maltiness on the palate

Save for a nice looking pour, there isn't much else to say about this beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2004 17:07:42 | More by baiser

mooseisloose

Florida

2.53/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Here goes #300 time flies when you're having fun. Another tallboy from the Canadian tour, the can thanks me for supporting a craft brewery, cheers. Popping the top and pouring the brew into a glass yields a dark brown barely translucent color with a tan head that foams then recedes. The smell albeit weak is of some caramel malts and red licorice. Taste of this brew is not too impressive. The taste is a very mild roasted malt flavor with some sweetness and no real hopping stands out. For the style I was expecting some body and backbone but this brew has neither. Mouthfeel though it is well carbonated is rather watery and bland. The best thing this brew has going for it is the art on the can. As for the brew inside the can, nothing stands out.

Serving type: can

04-02-2010 04:06:43 | More by mooseisloose

decimator

Ontario (Canada)

2.53/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

473ml can poured into a pint glass. ABV 5%.

A - Poured a dark mahogany with a 1cm cream head. Head reduced to surface bubbles. Minimal lacing.

S - Roasted malts, hint of pine.

T - Some caramel sweetness, hint of toast, a bit of sourness in the middle, metallic notes, very mild bitterness in the finish. The flavour comes and goes pretty quick.

M - Average carbonation, medium-light body, drying finish.

O - There's some sour & metallic notes that make this one miss the mark in the flavour department. The flavour is just light overall making this one is quite easy to drink. This isn't something I'll seek out.

Serving type: can

09-09-2012 20:33:50 | More by decimator

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

2.55/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Bottle: Poured a clear above average brown color lager with a large foamy head with good retention and minimal lacing. Aroma of lightly sweet caramel malt. Taste is also dominated by lightly sweet malt note. Definitely too thin for the style with some average carbonation. Refreshing but a bit thin and lacing some flavour.

Serving type: can

07-22-2008 17:22:58 | More by Phyl21ca

biggred1

Indiana

2.55/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Clear dark amber with a slight creamy tan head that quickly fades. The smell is faint and malt heavy. The flavors also are tilted to the maltier side.. sweet maltiness with just the slightest suggestion of hops. Light bodied with seltzery carbonation, finishes a little too sweet. Cool looking bottle but the stuff inside just doesn't deliver much.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2009 23:44:43 | More by biggred1

ludachris

Ontario (Canada)

2.55/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a deep chestnut brown with ruby red highlights and a one and a half finger cream coloured head. Okay retention and minimal lace.

The nose is quite muted with hints of sweet dark fruit, nuts, biscuit, and grassy hops barely make their way to the surface.

The taste seems almost as muted as the smell with quick doses of dark fruit, bready malts, a funky chemical like aftertaste, and a bit of biscuit and hazelnut in the end.

Mouthfeel is light and watery. I think the only thing this is made for is to be a dark, quaffable lager, and even that it fails to succeed at.

The only good thing that seemed to come out of this beer was its muted quality, solely for dumbing down the strange chemical aftertaste. Not recommended. If you're buying local, get something else a shot.

Serving type: can

02-02-2010 22:57:08 | More by ludachris

Darkmagus82

Montana

2.6/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from bottle into pint glass

Appearance – Pours a dark brown nearly black color with a one finger tan colored head. The head fades relatively quickly to leave a light level of lacing and a rather persistent film.

Smell – The aroma is heaviest of a roasted malt mixed with a lighter sweetness of caramel and some corn.

Taste – The taste begins of roasted malt and a sweet caramel taste. As the taste advances it seems to sweeten even further as some sweet corn malt flavors get more pronounced. The flavor takes on an almost cola like flavor with the mix of sweet corn and roast. A very light coffee flavor comes to the tongue at the end of the taste and when combined with the rest leaves a rather odd mix of sweet and roasted malt.

Mouthfeel-The body of the beer is on the average to just below average side in terms of its creaminess with a carbonation level that was rather average. While a darker brew, which is normally nicer with a creamier body, this beer actually seemed to do better with the thinner body and higher carbonation as it matched the more soda like flavor.

Overall – Well… it was a little too sweet and cola like in flavoring for me. Not bad if that is what you want from a beer, but not something that I personally really enjoyed.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2012 02:03:44 | More by Darkmagus82

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

2.63/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Dark, sourish, true to its style but certainly not the best example of it. Quaffable but weak mouthfeel. Modest taste some chocolate malt.Spot of coffee and nuts, the latter like a brown. Even a hint of licorice. Reasonable carbonation. Malty but not cloying sweet.

Serving type: on-tap

07-18-2006 03:43:06 | More by northyorksammy